Boat carrier for automobiles



Oct. 7, 1952 D. N. BERRY 2,613,020

BOAT CARRIER FOR AUTOMOBILES' Filed June 9, 1950 2 SHEETS-SHEET l Arron/VD Oct. 7, 1952 D. N. BERRY 2,513,020

BOAT CARRIER FOR AUTOMOBILES Filed June lsa, 195o 2 sHEETs-sHEET 2 INVENToR. 90A/,41.0 N .5E/FRY lowing description.

Patented Oct. 7, 1952 U NITED PATE NT "OFIFI CE .,aeuaozo .fBoAr CARRIER FoaiAUfroMoBIn-Es 'Donald `N. Berry,jDenver,Colo. .Applicatibaune 9, 1950,1seria1N0.- `167,180 Y (c1. 22o-42.1) l

, l 4 Claims.

t `1 i I This invention @relates touasboat-fcarrying attachment forV automobilesrandA hasj :for @its principal object the provision ,of `an attachment .which can be quickly` and easily applied Ato anyjconventional closed-type .f automobile, .land which will safely and securely transporta;- boatzfaboye v.the top lof the automobile.` A

`Another object of thefinventionds tofprovde a boat-carrying attachment` for automcbilesnso arranged that `one person` can quicklyfandeasily place the boat in 4placeqon the attachment, ,for remove it therefrom, `without:.beingirequired .to lift the entire weight ,of.thenboat.andzwithout marring or damagingeither ;the,;b.oator :theu automobile.

Other objects and `advantages residezin `the detail construction of `the invention, which vis `designed for simplicity,`neconomy, and efficiency These will become moreapparentfrompthelfol- In the following" detailed. descriptionoctthe invention, reference is haditoctheaccompanying drawing which forms a part hereof. *..Lke nu morals refer to like rparts'zin"allcviewswxof..the drawing and throughout :the description` in the drawing: l '1 e Fig. l is a side viewof :the:improvedboatacarrying attachment, illustrating it ;n.zplace ionean automobile;

Fig. 2 is a rear `view thereof;

Fig.4 l3 is a fragmentary, perspective view illustrating the means-of attaching vthe attachment to the automobile; and

Figs. 4, 5, and 6 are perspective*'views` illustrating the steps employed in placingaboat on the l attachment.

In the drawings a typical .automobile .is indicated at Ill, with its rain gutter at I Land-aconventional boat is illustrated atn3Il.V i

` The improved boat-carryingattachmentfconsists of two, preferably woodemfcross beams I2 which are held in spaced relation by means of a side roller I3. A U-shapedend strap I4 is bolted by means lof y inverted,` U .shaped, inelinedibracket members 20 the horizontal portions ofwhich are `clamped `to the ioeams I2 by `means of `clamp `straps 2 I ,andclampiboltsfZL `Theloracketmem- ,bersf20ron each beam I2,extend oppositely outward at an angle `of substantially 30 from rthe vertica1,:asshowndn'Fig. 2.

.-The lower extremities of .thejbrackets 20 `termi- .nate on `hinge .pins 2-3 whicharesupported g-in U-shapedyclips 24. Thegclips 24 arefwelded 0r otherwise mounted` onfcurved-g metallicppad Imembers f 2.5 havingpa f contour nto approximate the against the .rainfgutters II. The-angleclip I5 on :the forward `Fright side of ithe carrier-is extended upwardlytovprovide a fulcrum post, 3|,`

.the .use Aof which :will be later described.

It is `desired to; callattention to the universal adjustment provided bythe above structure. `To

initially4 adjust the,carrier` to aVH given automobile, theclampstraps. 2I;are loosened and thegpad members .are clamped ,to the .rain gutter lay-means foffthe screws. This automatically moves the straps; along theibeams I2 to lthe' proper position Vfurthe width of the given. automobile. 'The 4straps are then'tightenedbymeans of the bolts 22.,.and,

need not be again*` `adjusted for `the samel automobile. The curvature .of thevtop` is antornati- I cally acccmmodatedby `the `pivotal action o Ithe hinge `pinsZG'.

i The boat 30is carriedin anupside-down positionen the two wooden( cross beamsfl2 and :is

tied thereto by meansiofsuitable straps orropes by means of suitable bolts .I5 over one extremity of each cross beam I2. An. anglelclip l'isiwelded or otherwise"` formedon Leach.y end of strap .I4. The angle clips I6 serve as bearings for axle studs Il projecting from the opposite extremities of the roller I3. The axle studs I1 are secured in the clips I6 by means of removable cotter keys I8. A tying hook I9 is secured on each cross beam I2 adjacent each extremity thereof.

The beams I2 are supported above the roof of the automobile Ill in transverse, parallelrelation `(not shown) which engagethetying hooks I9.

- beams;

, 3 Fig. 6, it is secured by straps or ropes tied under the hooks I9.

To remove the boat, the above procedure is simply reversed, and the fulcrum post 3| serves as a xed point against which the side of the boat may be pried to swing it from the longitudinal position of Fig. 6 to the transverseposition of Fig. 5, from whence it may be lowered to the inclined position of Fig. 4.

When the carrier is not in use, the cotter keys i8 may be withdrawn, and the roller I3 removed and tied in aligned relation with the two beams i2 for convenient transportation or storage.

In the conventional automobile the rain gutters il curve downwardly fore and aft. has been found that the average incline of the gutters at the positions at which the carrier attaches is5 from horizontal. In view of this,

` the lower edges of the pad members 25 are cut on an incline of substantially 5 so that when these edges are resting in the gutters, the pad members will be substantially vertical. kHowever, the axle'studs l1 iit loosely in the clips i6 and the tops of the beams are preferably rounded so that a slight incline in either direction is not critical to the efficiency of the carrier. In the usual automobile top carrier, the weight is supported upon the top of the automobile. The tops are of relatively thin, bowed sheet metal and the weight they will support is vvery limited. In this improved carrier, however, the principal weight is transmitted to the rain gutter and the remainder is frictionally supported by the pad members and their cushions on the sides of the rounded and supported dome section of the automobile top. This allows the improved carrier to support a greater kload than the top will support. The angular position of the brackets 2t act to effectively resist sidesway -of the carrier. While a specic form of the improvement has been described and illustrated herein, it is to be understood that the same may be varied, within thescope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit'of the invention.

Having-thus described the invention, what is L claimed and desired secured by Letters Patent is:

l. A boat carrier vfor automobiles of the type having a rain gutter, comprising: two cross a bracket member beneath each extremity of each cross beam; clamping straps securing' said bracket membersfto said cross n beams, each bracket member extending outwardly and downwardly from its clamping strap beneath an extremity of the cross beam; a pad member below the lower extremity of each angle bracket; hinge means pivoting each pad member to the adjacent angle bracket; an angle clip extending upwardly from each pad member; a clamp screw extending through each angle' clip; and a hook member mounted on each clamp screw and adapted to engage said rain gutter, said brackets being longitudinally adjustable along said cross beams to accommodate automobiles of various widths.

2. A boat carrier for automobiles of the` type having a rainl gutter, comprising: two cross beams; a bracket member beneath each exthrough each angle clip;

tremity of each cross beam; clamping straps securing said bracket members to said cross beams, each bracket member extending outwardly and downwardly from its clamping strap beneath an extremity of the cross beam; a pad member below the lower extremity of each angle bracket; hinge means pivoting each pad member to the adjacent angle bracket; an angle clip extending upwardly from each pad member; a clamp screw extending through each angle clip; a hook member mounted on each clamp screw and adapted to engage said rain gutter, said brackets being longitudinally adjustable along said cross beams to accommodate automobiles of variousv widths; and a roller rotatably mounted at its extremities at one extremity of each of said beams.

3. A boat carrier for automobiles of the type having a rain gutter, comprising: two cross beams; a bracket member beneath each extremity of each cross beam; clamping straps securing said bracket members to said cross beams,

veach bracket member extending outwardly and downwardly from its clamping strap beneath an extremity of the cross beam; a pad member below the lower extremity of each angle bracket; hinge means pivoting each pad member to the adjacent angle bracket; an angle clip extending upwardly from each pad member; a clamp screw extending a hook member mounted oneach clamp screw and adapted to engage said rain gutter, said brackets being longitudinally adjustable alongsaid cross beams to accommodate automobiles of various widths;

an end strap secured around one extremity of each of said cross beams; a bearing clip mounted on each of said end straps; a roller extending between said bearing clips and maintaining said cross beams in spaced relation; and a iulcrum post extending upwardly from one of the bearing clips above the plane of said carrier against which a boat may be pried from a longitudinal to a transverse position.

4. A boat carrier for automobiles as described in claim 1, having a xed fulcrum post extending vertically upward from one extremity of one of said cross beams against which the boat may be pried to swing it from a transverse position relative to said beams to a parallel position therebetween.

y DONALD N. BERRY.

REFERENCES CITED UNITED STATES PATENTS Switzerland Nov. 17, 1941 

